In the End
by Yami Yuugi
Summary: Yuugi never asked for much. All he wanted was a true friend. He solved the millennium puzzle, believing that he gained 3 friends as his wish. Yet in the end he realized he was mistaken. He received something Entirely different.


In the End

One-Shot

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!

Summary: Yuugi fought against everything. All he ever wanted was a friend. He believed the puzzle brought him Anzu, Jonouchi, and Honda. Yet in the end, he realized he was mistaken. The puzzle brought him something else entirely.

AN: Another short fic. This one has been sitting on my computer since September or early October. I just finished working on it today. Maybe I'll start writing again.

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He fought against everything. The teen couldn't understand how such a simple object held so much raw power. A simple golden artifact excavated from Egypt captured his natural love of games. Most games were easy for him. However, this one held a legend with its intriguing name. 'The Millennium Puzzle,' an item created from the darkened souls of peasants from a poverty stricken village entitled, 'Kul Elna.' This puzzle was handed down from a pharaoh to his own son. On his coronation, a boy crowned Pharaoh spent his first and final day living through hell with sacrificing his soul in order to save his kingdom from Zorc and the rise of an evil tomb robber. His name ceased to exist. His followers erased his very existence from history. Only the remains of his tomb were found. His body encased in elegant gold jewels and oil soaked linen wrappings. The only Egyptian king to save his people for the common good instead of forcing hell upon them became known as 'The nameless pharaoh.'

Even with these legends, he continued to work on this puzzle. He received it from his grandfather after a rather nasty run in with a bully at the youthful age of eight years. Sugoroku Mutou never expected his grandson to follow into his footsteps of gaming. Let alone, enjoy an unsolvable puzzle from Egypt. He gave this game to his grandson for many reasons. However, the simplest of all held the depth of who his grandson was. The boy bore a striking resemblance to the intricate details carved into the mummy of the nameless pharaoh. He himself discovered the tomb with a guide. (Although, the man suffered a horrible fate in which cost him his life.) Sugoroku brought forth the puzzle for his grandson. A vision danced through his mind when he had first touched the puzzle's holding. A rectangular box carved in intricate detail boring the eye of Re. A memory, long and old flooded through the recesses of his very thoughts. A teenaged man with tan skin leaned towards him, golden regalia glistening in the fire lit tomb. The words he spoke were inaudible. All grandpa remembered was how much this young man resembled his own grandson. It wasn't the only reason he had offered the choice of 'Yuugi' for his grandson's naming years ago. His grandson loved games more than anything. It wasn't surprising how easily he acquired something from his grandpa's game shop for free. A flicker of his large violet eyes sent the man into guilt for not allowing the child to enjoy a small game.

This was the way he acquired the puzzle. Sugoroku needed to offer his grandson something to calm his uneasiness after a fight from school. The boy, battered badly smiled at his grandpa, split lip oozing with blood, tears falling from his large innocent eyes. This stare itself threw anyone into submission. Yuugi could rule an empire with his child-like looks.

Yuugi wasn't supposed to finish the puzzle. He wasn't supposed to keep it. The puzzle was temporary comfort from the pain he endured from Ushio or Jonouchi. All Yuugi needed and wanted was a friend to understand him. However, no matter how hard he attempted to, Sugoroku came up empty handed with the return of his trinket.

Little Yuugi enjoyed this item far beyond his own toys, much less video games. He would open the box, cradling shimmering puzzle pieces in his small hands. Each piece of the puzzle refused to stand together for him. Sadly after a few years, Yuugi began to lose faith in himself. The puzzle refused to be solved.

No matter how often he denied his mind's accusations, Yuugi forced himself to work on the puzzle. He was determined to finish it once and for all. He needed relief from the threats of Ushio.

'Maybe, I'll get my wish.'

He knew the thought of finishing the puzzle was futile. No one had solved the puzzle in all of its existence. Three thousand years of failed attempts, those who tried ended up dying in the end. Why was it that he who had tried for seven long grueling years never suffered from any fate of darkness?

Yuugi's mind fell into a trance, his fingers placed piece by piece into their proper places. A faint click echoed through the room as the puzzle began to take form. A golden inverted pyramid sat within Yuugi's small hands, glistening in the pale moonlight of the skylight. His large doe-like eyes gazed downwards at the treasure in his possession. One piece was needed for completion. Fear consumed his soul as he forged for the missing piece coming to no avail.

With a helping hand from his intrigued grandfather, Yuugi was able to complete the puzzle. A flash of light possessed the room, engulfing Yuugi's small body. The eye of Re flashed briefly upon the teen's forehead, his eyes closing in the process. It was then everything began. Ruby eyes opened in place of once innocent violet.

The other Yuugi awoke from the depths of imprisonment.

A smirk crossed over the Other Yuugi's face. He would seek revenge against those who trespassed against his possessor's soul.

"It's time to play a game, Ushio, a shadow game."

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Ever since the beginning Yuugi wondered how his life would end up. The puzzle changed everything for in the end. He found a group of friends. : Jonouchi, Anzu, Honda, etc. He became a world renowned champion at Duel Monsters. He even found a friend in the spirit of the millennium puzzle.

In the end he always wondered if his wish came true. He wasn't sure if anyone other than himself or the spirit knew what his original desire had been.

All he wanted was a true friend. He wanted someone to like him for who he was. He believed the puzzle granted him this wish. Yet in the end, he realized it wasn't completely accurate.

It took him two and a half years to realize the truth. The answer pranced in front of him during his final duel. His win over Atem brought forth the truth. The spirit had been his granted wish. He wanted a friend who would like him, for who he was, someone who would stick by him until the very end. Yuugi needed someone to make him stronger as a person and as a duelist. He received the other Yuugi in reward to solving the puzzle.

Confidence was gained and a friend was lost. He grew mature with the loss of his best friend in the entire world. The other Yuugi brought change for the teenager. With the actual King of Games defeated Yuugi took his place as the rightful holder of the title. Even with the loss of Atem, Yuugi knew this wasn't the end of everything. His life would go on, just as the other Yuugi's would in the afterlife.

It wasn't unbelievable to Sugoroku. Even after finding himself sealed away in a card during the Duelist Kingdom era, the man found his grandson's ability to complete the puzzle astounding. The shy little boy he raised grew into a game king. He dealt the fates of wrong doers with shadow games in the beginning. He saved the world from villains. Yuugi wasn't a normal teenager. The old man knew this since the day of his grandson's childhood.

Yuugi Mutou was no longer fighting against anything. He became everything he wanted and more. He became everything his other self had been. The puzzle wasn't even a temporary comfort as his grandfather predicted. After all, legends weren't always true. The puzzle wasn't incapable of solving. It was waiting for the hands of the right person.

End.


End file.
